The invention relates to a housing with a sliding switch with at least three positions, wherein the housing has an opening through which a sliding element of the sliding switch projects at least partially.
Such housings with sliding switches are often installed on the front side in memory sub-systems. These sliding switches usually have three positions, that is, the O position (OFF) in which the system is completed turned off, the I position (ON) in which the system is turned on and in local operation, and the R position (REMOTE) in which the system is also operating, but can be controlled by means of a LAN. Normally, the O position is at the first position of the sliding switch, i.e., it is not in the middle.
Because sliding switches of this type are installed on the front side, the risk of unintentional shifting of the sliding element is relatively high. In addition, the consequences of unintentional shifting of the sliding element can be very serious, for example, if the memory sub-system is completely turned off without the data having been previously stored.
A second problem consists in that when switching from the I position (ON) into the R position (REMOTE) or vice versa, switching can overshoot the target, and the system is then unintentionally completely turned off.
In order to prevent unintentional shifting of the sliding element and accidental turning off of the system, a protective device is needed.
Until now, solutions have been known in which the protective device is constructed as an additional switch. Here, in normal use, the sliding switch effectively has two stages, and a third position can be reached only after pressing a safety button. This solution is often used for video cameras, Disadvantages in this type of solution include the associated complication and costs in production. The additional switch usually requires additional electronics.